It is raining in these parts. I actually don't mind the rain - it reminds me of home. In this case, home means Halifax which, I suppose, is no longer home. However, the place where one's parents reside and where most of one's growing-up years were spent is, in a sense, always home. So, when the rain comes, I actually feel a sort of relief come over me. In fact, I absolutely love to walk in the rain and have taught my children to do the same. My neighbour commented on our rainy walks the other day,"I'm beginning to think that you only walk when it's raining."
"It reminds me of home. I like it."
"But maybe the kids don't."
Oh. Sorry. I think they do.
Nevertheless, a grey day can always do with some brightening. So, this morning, instead of Dave taking the van to work, we drove Daddy to school and took ourselves to Gerber's nursery. Gerber's is a little piece of heaven. I don't know of any "garden centre" like it. I put garden centre in quotes because Gerber's is more like stepping into a scene from the Sound of Music. It consists of a German style home surrounded by old barns, greenhouses, paths, and gardens, gardens and more gardens. This is not the Walmart garden centre. (For those of you familiar with the beauty and earthiness of Madonna House, Gerber's is a bit like the Lutheran version of MH.) The proprietress, an older German woman, whose accent is as thick as her eyes are kind, sits in one of the greenhouses potting plant after plant. When I commented that her home and grounds were like a piece of paradise, she took her hands out of the soil, looked at me and said with the knowledge and pain of many years, "Paradise is much better."
Until then, Gerber's will do.
4 comments:
So where is Gerber's? It is so sad here, there is only one garden centre in all the peninsula at the grocery stores. So gone are the "pick up a plant" while grocery shopping trips. Only the Superstore has plants and they aren't great, and then there is Halifax Seed which small as well. The selection is really poor this year.
Well God in His wisdom didn't put Gerber's anywhere near Sr. Helen who has an uncontrollable addiction to garden centers. She lived around the corner from a Farmer Clem's and I am certain she kept the in business!!! The plants are beautiful!!
I, too, am wondering where Gerber's is, even though I feel like I should know. I chuckled at the comment from neighbours that 'maybe the kids don't like the walk in the rain'. Only at home (it is still home to me ...) would you get such frankness. I think walks in the rain are cozy and I bet your kids will love whatever Mommy loves.
My house is in Georgia my home Halifax.
Rainy days remind me of home as well. But the thing I love is fog!
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